1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radiation source position detection method, a radiation source position detection system, and a radiation source position detection probe for use in detecting a position of a radiation source in such fields as nuclear power development and medicine.
2. Description of the Related Art
A radiation detection system for detecting radiation such as hard X-rays or γ-rays and generating image information finds application in various technological fields. The physical condition and the spatial structure of a given heavenly body can be known, for example, by detecting the radiation field from the particular heavenly body. Also, a tomographic image of a human body or the like can be acquired by radiating the X-rays on the human body or the like and checking the transmitted waves. Various other applications include nuclear power (glass solidification testing and radiation monitoring devices for radiation waste, etc.), nondestructive inspection (semiconductor inspection device, etc.) and resource exploration (survey of underground resources, etc.).
Most of the conventional radiation detection systems, however, detect the photons flying to the surface of the detector, and the energy of the radiation is measured or imaged based on the detected photons. The position of the radiation source, therefore, cannot be detected with high accuracy.